Gaming Laptop

[nitevision88]

I know the term is kind of an oxymoron unless you spend over $2000, but I'm getting a laptop for college - and despite having a desktop that I could upgrade, there's no room in the tiny dorm room for a desktop, so I can't build something for $$$$ and spend $$$ on a laptop which would be ideal.

-I was thinking something C2D with a T7200, seems like the best value CPU out there.

-I'm okay with having Vista, and obviously 2 gigs of ram would be nice, but if it had 1 gig 1-dimm, I could upgrade for relatively little cost.

-Looking for something with a hard drive in the 120+ gig range, 5400RPM is probably fine.

-In terms of weight, I *really* don't want some heavy nonsense to bring to class every day, I was hoping 6.5lbs max.

-For the screen, I was thinking at least 14", probably no more than 15.4" b/c of the weight issue, widescreen, maybe 1440x900?

-Graphics is the main problem I've been having. Trying to find a dedicated card that is actually good. I'm thinking 256mb or possibly 512mb for vram, but I've been struggling to find a card that runs games well.

Basically, I just want a laptop that would primarily be for class, so portability is needed, but I would also like to play some games on the thing, hopefully not at minimum resolution, as that would be slightly depressing. I'm looking to spend $1500ish.

I was looking at the Asus F3JP before, but I have read that the graphics are marginal with the current games, and can only run demanding games on very low quality. I want to be able to run some games for at least a year or so, until I can bring a desktop (and have room for it). Any suggestions?

[AnthraX]

Check out cyberpowerpc.com

[Riznarf]

also check out velocitymicro.com

in terms of a video card, nvidia just came out with 8series mobile, or you could stuff a 7900gtx go in there, which is a pretty good card.

I'd go with a 7200rpm HDD, especially for gaming it'd be better, it may not be as big, but thats easily fixed with an external HDD

[nitevision88]

Is the Vaio VGN-TZ190 CTO a solid machine?

I'm looking at the customized model on the Sony Style website w/o BD.

It's looking like: $1608.99

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Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 / 2.0 GHz
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2 GB DDR-SDRAM (DDR2-533, 1 GBx2)
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120 GB Hard Disk Drive
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SuperMulti (DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive)
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15.4" WXGA (HC) W/CMR
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NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT
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Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
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802.11a\b\g\n with BT
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Large Capacity Lithium-ion Battery (BPL8)

It looks like a solid machine, it having the Santa Rosa cpu, and an 8400 GT, but will it game, is the ultimate question.

[meat_helmet]

I got an MSI L745 laptop about 3 months ago. Its a very good laptop for the price i payed - although i dont game on it much, it can pull in most recent games on med-high settings. It cost me $2,200 Australian, so probly about $1,800 US.

L745:

Core 2 Duo T7400 @2.14Ghz
1GB RAM
120GB HDD @ 5,400RMP
Nvidia MXM2 7600Go (upgradeable)
17inch Widescreen 1400x900
Vista Home Premium

As i said, very good laptop so far: MSI -- MICRO-STAR INT'L CO., LTD.